A cannabis smuggler knows that most of the drug mules ‘catch’ him.

Asked if he felt people were desperate, he said, “Not really, I didn’t have much choice or time so I took it.”

Zee added: “Fresh faces, people you wouldn’t suspect – backpacker types. Not girls: girls are very sensitive.”

Many traffickers used young women to bring cannabis back from Thailand, but this led to several arrests.

They include Bella Cooley, 19, from Teesside, who was arrested in Georgia and brought to the UK with 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish.

She was released from prison in November after accepting a plea deal.

She said she was forced and tortured to smuggle the drugs.

The 28 tonnes seized by the NCA included 19 tonnes at Heathrow, where officers made 530 arrests, and 145 suspected “mules” of almost five tonnes were arrested in Manchester.

Couriers are told they can avoid fines or suspended prison sentences if caught, but Ministry of Justice data shows that in 2015, By June 2025, 80% of the 840 people convicted of possessing Class B drugs are in prison.

The number of people convicted rose by 209 in the last 12 months.

The BBC understands that tighter security at airports has led to smugglers looking for alternative smuggling routes and the post has been taken as a viable option.

Ze said: “I bring 10 kilos (kilo) in vacuum-sealed packages. Ten addresses, one kilo for each address. I just pay someone to deliver it – usually it’s in the weed because they’re happy about it.”

Thai and British authorities have blocked postal deliveries.

Zey said traffickers have responded by turning to shipping instead.

Before Christmas, he showed the BBC pictures of Pondisha tins in which he said he had hidden 250 grams of the drug and sent it to the UK.

Zee said the cannabis he imports is broken down by traders who sell it in 3.5g deals – known on the street as “eighths” (ounces) – using glossy packaging bought online.